


Lavender

by ashtin



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, but it's platonic i promise, enjoy, idk how to tag, jeno is dumb, johnny is an angel, markmin are gonna be cute bffls, mermaid au, platonic fiance jaemin/taeyong, taeyong is fairly whipped for jaemin, this is a little mermaid/aquamarine/H2O clusterfuck infusion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 17:44:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17166419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashtin/pseuds/ashtin
Summary: Jaemin, a first prince, fell in love when he was five years old. With a human.Jaemin’s parents set him up with Taeyong, a third prince who encouraged Jaemin to seek out the true love he desired, but not before creating a bond with the older mer-prince that he’d carry with him forever.Jeno had a bizarre, near death experience when he was five years old with a permanent scar to prove it.





	Lavender

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starlighttrash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlighttrash/gifts).



> This is written for my sister as a gift I've been working on since Christmas of last year~ I hope you will all enjoy it!

The sun glared unforgivingly and the wind whipped around sporadically, which caused light plastic cups and paper plates at weekend beach barbeques to be whisked away without warning. The weather warning flags all flipped to red due to high winds deeming the ocean water unsafe for swimming. Waves rolled in mercilessly, but they did nothing to deter happy families from sunbathing, sand castle building, and the occasional attempt at kite flying.

 

Just a few miles down from the main pier, Jeno celebrated his fifth birthday with the few friends he’d made from daycare and their parents with other family and friends his own parents invited along. The five year-old boy didn’t mind the unfamiliar faces, because the more guests there were the more presents he would receive! And even though he could not quite read his birthday cards, he still begged his mother to save them so that he could look at them forever, especially the ones that had held money in them, they were extra important of course.

 

Late afternoon came and the guests said their goodbyes and wished Jeno a happy birthday one last time before parting ways. His parents worked to clean up the bits and pieces of trash that had littered their area as the winds picked up, gusts stronger than the ones from earlier in the day. One particularly strong gust picked up a few of the birthday cards Jeno wanted to be saved while his mother’s back was turned. Jeno cried for them to stop but his scream was drowned out by the roaring waves the cards flew toward.

 

The five year old took off as fast as his short legs allowed him to go, lifeguard whistles fell on deaf ears as he neared the dangerous waters. Jeno didn’t understand the warning whistles nor could he hear his mother’s cries for him, but he knew that everything would be fine as long as he could just grab the card that had paused along the shoreline. He paid no attention to the quickly receding water as he brushed off the wet sand that was caked onto the ill-fated card and Jeno only faintly registered the sound of a frantic whistle just a breath’s time before a wave came crashing over him.

 

Jeno felt his legs being ripped out from under him as the current whisked him further into the ocean. The water roared in his ears and he only made the mistake of opening his eyes for a brief second where he was met with the most frightening darkness he had ever encountered in his entire five years of life! He hadn’t quite learned to swim without the aid of flotation devices or a life jacket, but he had enough sense to know that he should hold in his breath as long as he possibly could!

 

Surrounded by total darkness, Jeno felt completely weightless, while at the same time he felt as if an anchor had been attached to his ankles and that it was dragging him further and further down into the darkness. He did his best to thrash about, kicking his legs and flailing his arms about in hopes that it would bring him back up toward to the water’s surface.

 

His lungs began to burn and his arms and legs tired quickly after. Still, he fought with all of his strength until he felt his arm pull across a jagged surface and cut deep into his skin. Salted water filled his lungs when he let out a silent scream and cradled the injured arm to his chest.

 

He clamped his mouth shut, but not before he swallowed a mouthful of salt water. The lack of oxygen making it to his brain began to be too much and he felt it in the dizziness that took over his more coherent thoughts of fighting to stay alive. The burn in his limbs matched the fading burn against his lungs and the lids of his eyes, his movements of desperation became sluggish as his will to fight weakened by the second.

 

He decided to finally give in when he began to feel faint. Jeno would give in to the feeling of fear and let himself sink impossibly deeper into the dark abyss below. At least, that’s what he’d decided when he suddenly felt something strong and warm close around his wrist and another around the jagged cut on his arm.

 

He was hallucinating. Surely, he was going mad at the brink of death.

 

With his eyes slammed shut, Jeno did his best to keep calm; he’d already given in, so what good would panicking do him?

 

_“Open your eyes…”_

 

Jeno shook his head back and forth. Now he was hearing voices?!

 

 _“I cannot help you unless I can see your eyes. Please.”_ The voice was young. Just as young as him? Jeno wondered why he’d be hearing another child’s voice in the last moments of his own life.

 

Jeno wanted to laugh, but his chest hurt too bad to even think about doing so.

 

_“I will not hurt you. I want to help.”_

 

Deciding he had nothing else to lose, Jeno appeased the voice. First he cracked only one eye open, and then slowly the other.

 

Everything flashed a brilliant bright purple and Jeno found himself squinting against the light. He thought that surely this must be the infamous “light” people spoke of seeing in one’s last living moments. That was, until the bright light faded and all that remained in Jeno’s sight was a young boy, no older than him, staring curiously at him.

 

Jeno stared back. Just as awestruck of the sight before him. With shaking eyes, he looked the stranger up and down -he ignored the thoughts of how impossible it should have been to even be able to see _anything_ in such dark waters.

 

A slim, silver circlet peeked through strands of soft brown hair that framed a baby-like face. The irises of his eyes were filled black and glowed dully as he stared back at Jeno. Though they were obviously close in age, the depths of the stranger’s eyes held a maturity in them that surpassed Jeno’s by years.

 

He moved his eyes lower, past the boy’s neck and bare chest, until he saw one of the most bizarre things in all of his life. Shimmers of pastel pinks and purples glistened in magical light that seemed to emit from the boy’s body. Oval shaped scales glittered and semi-transparent fins twitched gracefully as the boy idled in front of Jeno. The boy had a‒  

 

“ _A tail, yes.”_ The voice answered inside Jeno’s head. Could he read his thoughts?

 

“ _Trust in me._ ” Jeno heard words in his head from a voice that didn’t belong to himself, once more.

 

The boy with the tail took one of Jeno’s hands in his own and laid the other over Jeno’s mouth, his eyes flashed a shade of lavender for a brief moment and-

 

“ _Breathe._ ” Came the voice in his head once again.

 

Jeno was so awestruck by the boy that he hadn’t even noticed the pressure no longer crushed his lungs, nor did his eyes scream from having them open in the salty water.

 

“Who are you?” Are the first words Jeno can gasp out once he’s found his voice. He kept his eyes locked with the other boy’s in fear that he would panic if he put any focus on the dark waters surrounding them. That, and he wasn’t quite sure which direction was up or down at that moment in time.

 

The boy, whose eyes now sparkled a duller lavender than what they’d flashed before, cocked his head to the side curiously. “ _You are not afraid of me?_ ”

 

“You saved me… I think.” Jeno explained like it was the most obvious fact in the world. “You’re… good.”

 

The strange boy smiled brightly and Jeno would have returned the smile, but there was still a hand covering his mouth. He figured that the boy would have removed it by now if it wasn’t absolutely necessary for him to keep it there, so he didn’t mention anything about it.

 

A dull flash around them and a muffled roaring noise caused the boy’s smile to falter. He looked away for a second and back to Jeno, eyes sparkling back to life before he spoke urgently.

 

“ _You have to go now. Your parents are worried, and mine… are not going to be happy with me._ ”

 

“ _It is going to be scary,”_ the tailed boy continued as the waters around them began to stir. _“But I’m going to make sure you make it to the surface. You have to trust me, okay?_ ”

 

The boy’s hand never moved away from Jeno’s mouth so he can only nod slightly to show that he understood; he trusted him completely.

 

“ _Close your eyes. It will be quick._ ”

 

Jeno did as he was told and felt his heart rate quicken, as if it knew what was to come next, “ _Take a deep breath on three. One._ ”

 

Jeno squeezed his eyes shut even tighter with all of his strength.

 

“ _Two._ ”

 

He could feel them moving  in a direction Jeno could only hope was upwards, but he refrained from opening his eyes to find out.

 

_“Three. Deep breath!”_

 

Jeno did as instructed and drew in the biggest and deepest breath he could muster and hoped for the best as he felt his body being propelled through the water at an alarming speed.

 

_“Live well. I will not forget you.”_

 

-

 

The once-crowded beach had been nearly abandoned save for the officials and lifeguards that had become a makeshift search-and-rescue team at the sudden emergency. Jeno’s parents were restrained by a few other officials so that they wouldn’t recklessly jump into the dangerous waters after their son that had been swept up by a particularly vicious wave right in front of their eyes. The rescue team were under strict orders and would not be allowed to begin their search until the waves let up, but it pained them to stand around and feel so completely useless knowing that a boy could die on their watch if they didn’t do something quickly!

 

Minutes felt like years to the young boy’s parents, but that’s all that passed before the strangest phenomenon anyone at the beach would ever see happened.

 

Jeno’s mother’s eyes never once left the waters. If she couldn’t jump in to save him herself, then she wouldn’t look away even for a second, wouldn’t move from the spot in which she was unfairly confined to, wouldn’t eat or sleep until she knew her little boy was safe and sound again. Her persistent stare paid off when she spotted a small arm stick straight up out of the rough waters before quickly submerging once again.

 

“Jeno.” She breathed out. Her husband, who had been discussing survival tactics he wanted to believe his son possessed in the worst case scenario with one of the fire marshalls who’d arrived just moments ago, stopped mid sentence to look to his wife.

 

In the split second it took for her to breathe out the boy’s name and her husband to look at her, a powerful wave of air swept over the section of the beach that had otherwise been in chaos. The ripple of power knocked the officials and lifeguards off their feet. Jeno’s parents fell to their knees in the cold sand, but his mother’s eyes remained at the spot she’d seen in the water. Water that was now calmer than any serene sea one might recall, but that was not the strangest part of the phenomenon.

 

Just a small section of the entire spanse of the beach seemed to be affected. It was something onlookers could only describe as magic, but would later be explained as some sort of freak weather incident that came as a blessing in the midst of a chaotic search and rescue mission. As wind still whipped and waves still crashed all around them, but all was calm in front of their eyes.

 

The silence lasted for one, two beats of breath.

 

“JENO!” His mother screeched at the sight of a young boy surfacing in the calm water. She stumbled forward away from the officials who remained awestruck at the sight for only a moment before quickly jumping into action. Two lifeguards sprinted into the ocean without hesitation, a third following soon after with a small life jacket in his grasp and the three of them made quick work to reach the boy.

 

-

 

“We got you kid, you don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

 

“‘M not s-scared. Just.. sleepy.” Jeno’s consciousness was spotty and his vision felt blurred. He wanted to take a nap. He wanted nothing more to go home and fall asleep in his own bed and wake up to his mother calling him down for a snack like she always did after his regular naptime.

 

“That’s a nasty cut you got there, buddy. Does it hurt?” One of the lifeguards held turn Jeno’s arm so that the bottom faced upward, the other lifeguard stared open mouthed at the jagged scar.

 

Jeno had completely forgotten about the injury after the other boy stopped the bleeding. He shook his head, it didn’t hurt. Nothing hurt, he felt completely fine, but his body and mind were extremely exhausted.

 

 _Thank you._ Jeno tried his hardest to send his thoughts to the other boy. _Merboy,_ his brain gently reminded him as darkness edged around his vision, his eyes fluttered in attempt to keep himself awake, but it was futile.

 

“Almost there, little buddy. Your mom and dad will be extremely happy to see you! Hey, try to stay awake…”

 

The darkness took over before they made it back to the shore, but a voice made it into his head just before he could completely give in to sleep.

 

_“I will never forget you. Please live well.”_

 

A single tear fell from Jeno’s closed eyes. “Me too,” he mumbled aloud as they neared the calm shore. “I won’t forget.”

 

-

 

Jaemin’s hands shook violently as he held off the raging storm around the boy and rescue team. He had been in  training his control for months now, but this was well beyond his limits and he knew it. Still, he pressed his magic, willing it to hold on for just a little bit longer, just until the lifeguards had carried the boy a safe distance on to the beach and away from the shore.

 

“NA JAEMIN!” Doyoung’s voice pierced the waters around him. He was angry, Jaemin could tell from the tone he used, but the anger was almost completely masked with worry.

 

Moments later he felt the older’s magic lace around his own and strengthen the control.

 

“You’re lucky if his Majesty doesn’t kill you for this.” Doyoung muttered from beside him, but Jaemin paid him no attention.

 

_Thank you._

 

Doyoung sputtered, having heard the stranger’s thoughts loud and clear, and Jaemin let his lips form the faintest smile before sending the other boy one last well wish and the same promise from earlier. Jaemin let his magic go once he could no longer feel the young human’s presence in the ocean and Doyoung quickly followed suit.

 

“You are _so_ dead for saving a human.” Doyoung sighed ran a hand through his hair and glanced down to the younger. He fixed the lopsided circlet on Jaemin’s head and pulled him away from the now raging current.

 

“You assisted.” Jaemin shrugged. He felt sluggish and near faint, in no mood to argue with his older companion.

  
  


**_Fifteen Years Later_ **

 

Jaemin’s parents, the highest renowned pair of royals across all of the oceans, had really tried their best. Jaemin could at least give them that much. All throughout his life they would tell him that an arranged marriage would be his only option and to never seek true love, that no one believed in it and it simply did not exist. Besides, they would continue when Jaemin tried to argue that he believed in true love, he would not have a choice in the matter either way.

 

They tried harder once the young prince turned fifteen.

 

He was to spend the warm months at the neighboring kingdom with another prince, five years older than Jaemin, who would become his fiance in the future. His parents’ reasoning being that if he so strongly believed in love, then perhaps he could learn to love the man he was meant to marry before the day came.

 

Taeyong was lovely. That was the word Jaemin used to describe the older boy when he spoke about him with his parents, anyway. Taeyong treated Jaemin with kindness and respect that would have had the younger prince falling for him without a doubt, that is, _if_ Jaemin had not already had his sights set on a certain human boy of the same age since he was five years old.

 

Still, he entertained his parents, and made the long journey summer after summer. Each year he grew a little bit closer to the cold prince, who Jaemin was pleased to find out he was not cold at all! Doyoung had been all kinds of wrong when he filled Jaemin in on the widely known personality of the other prince before his first summer he was to spend with the elder.

 

The two became friends through the years. They were comfortable together and trusting of each other, they confided in and consoled one another and kept each other on top of their royal duties and educational studies while together. On the off months Taeyong would send beautiful scrolls of encouragement and updates on his life, but he would make the journey to Jaemin’s home kingdom on major holidays to celebrate with Jaemin and his two younger brothers, Chenle and Jisung. Doyoung, ever the present during these visits, might have looked forward to them a bit more than Jaemin, but he would never admit such a thing to anyone, of course.

 

While their closeness appeased both princes’ parents, the two never loved each other, not romantically, and not in the way Jaemin’s parents hoped he would. The only reason Jaemin willingly went back each year was due to the fact that he and Taeyong both knew they could never like each other in that way.

 

-

 

Jaemin returned to Taeyong’s palace for the fifth year in a row, just two months before his twentieth birthday. The two princes quickly fell back into their easy and comfortable relationship, just like it had always been in the years past, but Jaemin could sense something was… different.

 

The first month crawled by at a sea snail’s pace. Jaemin spent more hours of the day cooped up in his room than he did doing anything else. Taeyong had become busier than usual. There was always some sort of meeting he was forced to attend, but before that, he would have to go through preparation for said meetings, neither of which Jaemin was allowed to be present for. Taeyong would send the younger away with a apologetic eyes and a promise to make it up to him as soon as possible.

 

Taeyong grew impossibly busier than he already was through the weeks, but he still made the time to be with Jaemin before the younger was to retire to his wing of the palace for the evening.

 

“Min-ah.” Taeyong smiled softly at the sight of Jaemin lounging in a common area that attached to the library located in Jaemin’s wing. The younger prince paused his reading and marked his place with a finger in what Taeyong thought looked like a prehistoric scroll.

 

“Hey, handsome.” Came Jaemin’s familiar response with a brilliant smile. Taeyong’s own smile widened as he moved gracefully to where the younger prince remained.

 

“I have something to ask of you.” Taeyong scratched behind his head and the pearly white fins of his tail fluttered nervously. The movements caused Jaemin to waver just for a moment; in all the time he’d known the older, Taeyong had never been one to express such nervous habits. Jaemin feigned annoyance and sighed as he moved from his warm spot he had nearly fallen asleep in so that he was face-to-face with Taeyong.

 

Their eyes met for only a moment, the emotion in the elder’s gaze almost too much for Jaemin to handle. He broke the eye contact without much thought and reached up to fix Taeyong’s askew crown. The delicate silver was cool to the touch, but the deep amber stones braided into the material filled Jaemin with a familiar warmth. He leveled his gaze to meet the matching amber eyes that still looked at him with extreme fondness, only this time it brought a smile to Jaemin’s lips.

 

 _You are overreacting,_ he thought to himself. _It is only Taeyong._

 

“Ask away, Your Highness.”

 

**_PAST_ **

  


_“Do not call me by that, kid.” Taeyong snapped his head around faster than his body could catch up to twirl around in place. The sudden jerky movement caused his crown to tilt diagonally to the side._

 

_“My apologies, Your H‒ .”_

 

_The elder silenced him by laying a single finger over his lips._

 

_“As long as you are living here we are to treat each other as equals, understand?”_

 

_Jaemin nodded his head slowly and waited for Taeyong to remove his finger from his lips before speaking again._

 

_“Uh,” he began dumbly. The young prince’s eyes darted back and forth from Taeyong’s unwavering fierce gaze to where his crown had gone askew._

 

_Taeyong’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion._

 

_“What is the matter?” He asked a little too sharply, but Jaemin brushed it off and extended his height so that the two of them saw eye-to-eye. Taeyong’s fiery embers bore expectantly into Jaemin’s soft lavender gem-like eyes._

 

_The two princes had only known each other for a few weeks, and in that short time Jaemin had decided that he would make the best out of his forced time with the older, but they had yet to make any progress with each other. Both of them knew and understood what the long-term goal of the visits was, and Jaemin argued within himself that Taeyong probably had not asked for this, either. They would get absolutely nowhere if Taeyong was to keep acting so passive aggressive, especially if Jaemin was going to keep letting him do so every single time._

 

_So the younger prince took a deep breath and met Taeyong’s amber gaze once more._

 

_“Okay,” he reached up and looked away from the other prince’s eyes for only a moment while he adjusted the delicate silver circlet so that it rested evenly on the elder’s head._

 

_“Equals.” Jaemin brought his hands back down slowly and made eye contact once more. He smiled warmly at Taeyong for the first time since the two almost three weeks ago._

 

_The corners of Taeyong’s lips twitched up into a half-smile and Jaemin will never forget the moment he could visibly see all of the hard edges the older had built around himself begin to soften, even if just the smallest bit._

 

**_PRESENT_ **

 

“My birthday.” Taeyong spoke softly, his eyes had grown impossibly fonder at the mention of the stupid nickname Jaemin had liked to use to tease him with.

 

“Hmm,” the younger hummed and cocked his head to the side as he recalled the date. “Yeah, the day is coming up soon, is it not?”

 

“Next week.” Taeyong confirmed.

 

“We usually celebrate our birthdays together, but twenty-five is…” Taeyong trailed off and Jaemin’s eyes crinkled at the corners from the sweet smile that adorned his lips.

 

“It is kind of a big deal. I know it well, my parents talked of it endlessly through the years.”

 

Twenty-five was considered a mer-folk’s ‘coming of age’ in mundane terms. The physical aging aspect of their long lives would stop for decades and would not resume again until around their one-hundredth birthday. Even then, the aging process was still extremely drawn out for the rest of their lives.

 

“My father is insisting on a ball.” Taeyong’s eyes searched Jaemin’s for a brief moment before he continued. “It will probably be a bore, at best, and I am aware that you are not so eager to attend official royal events‒”

 

Jaemin couldn’t suppress his giggles at that! Taeyong recalled _everything,_ so Jaemin was not surprised that the other was wary to mention any sort of official royal event and the younger’s dislike for them.

 

He quieted down when Taeyong cleared his throat, clearly looking even more uncomfortable than when he first approached Jaemin.

 

"But… I would really, seriously be very much delighted if you would do me the honor of accompanying me to my twenty-fifth birthday ball… as my date.”

 

 _Oh._ Was that what all the nerves had been about? Jaemin’s mind had began to take a turn for the worst.

 

“Good grief, Taeyong! You almost gave me a fright…” The younger grasped onto Taeyong’s bicep dramatically. “I thought you were about to confess your undying love to me or something.”

 

Taeyong’s grimace was enough to set both Jaemin’s mind and heart at ease once more.

 

“My apologies, kid. It is not like I could just ask your companion to be my date, you know.”

 

Jaemin smirked with eyes alight and mischievous.

 

“You _could_ , though. I promise I would not oppose you and Doyoung even the slightest bit.”

 

Taeyong sighed and playfully reached out to the younger, pulling him into a comfortable embrace. “You know I do love you, though. Even if it is not of the romantic value which you so earnestly seek.”

 

Jaemin hummed and encircled his arms around the other to return the gesture.

 

“I know it well.” He swallowed thickly and hoped that the conversation was not about to head in the direction that they both knew it _should_. “And I reciprocate that love, but in the same platonic manner.”

 

Taeyong pulled away with a heavy sigh, “Much to our Majesties’ dismays.”

 

Jaemin stared after Taeyong as he moved toward the entrance of the lounge. The unspoken, _but I would marry you if you were to choose to go through with the arrangement in the end,_ hung heavy in the space between them. He smiled sadly and followed the elder up to the sleeping quarters of his wing.

 

“Ah,” Taeyong paused when the two reached the entrance to their destination. “You failed to answer my request, Min-ah.”

 

Jaemin rolled his eyes -he could practically hear his mother chastising him about the habit and reciting time after time how unroyal-like the gesture was- and squeezed Taeyong’s hand that was now clasped around his own.

 

“Consider it our first date.” The younger teased with a knowing smirk.

 

“Amazing.” Taeyong breathed out and let go of Jaemin’s hand. His amber eyes were playful as he continued, “I court you for five years and my first public date with you will also be my last.”

 

The unspoken elephant hung heavy in the space around them.

 

“ _Our_ first and last date.” Jaemin poked the older prince in his side. “I will see to it that Doyoung will present for _my_ birthday celebration. I will not request a date, but if the opportunity presents itself…”

 

Taeyong’s smile softened at the mention of Jaemin’s young companion. He felt nothing but gratitude in his heart at the knowledge of Jaemin’s approval of his not so secret feelings toward the other. In fact, he was so grateful that he could _kiss_ the younger prince. So he did just that with a quick peck on the apple of Jaemin’s rosy cheek.

 

Jaemin’s eyes crinkled shut from the smile he sported.

 

“Whoever captures your heart will be the luckiest person to live, Na Jaemin.”

 

Jaemin moved to push the elder from away from his room while giggling at his sappy comment. “Goodnight, Taeyong.”

 

“Ah, one more thing!” Taeyong said with urgency and held Jaemin’s wrists so that the younger would stay still. He looked into Jaemin’s eyes with the same serious expression from earlier and Jaemin felt his stomach drop in anticipation.

 

“Things are going to get a little bit chaotic soon. The days spent between our birthdays… let us make the most of them, alright?”

 

The elephant began screaming in the space between the knowing gazes the princes shared.

 

The younger nodded slowly and Taeyong continued. “The day following your twentieth birthday… find me before anyone else. We will face them together. Do you understand?”

 

Taeyong pulled the younger to his chest to avoid having to look into saddened eyes. He needed to end the conversation before either of them said something they would regret in the future. “Sleep well, Min-ah.”

 

-

 

The affair was the talk of the seas. The third prince was coming of age and his future fiancé, a first prince, had been introduced to the public when he attended the ball attached to Taeyong’s side.

 

Talk of the beautiful pair traveled across the globe. How Jaemin’s soft and boyish charms contrasted with Taeyong’s sharp cold front, but that they complimented each other immensely. A perfect fit. How had their parents gotten so lucky with the match?

 

The comments left Jaemin with an indescribable feeling at the pit of his stomach. It had never crossed his mind that their engagement would be the focus point of the birthday celebration, and by the nervous fidgeting Taeyong displayed, Jaemin figured the elder had not expected such an outcome, either. The princes had long since made their decisions and both felt the same discomfort with each passing murmur and glance shown their way as they crossed the palace ballroom together.

 

“Ignore them,” Doyoung’s serene voice did its best to calm both princes once they reached Jaemin’s companion.

 

Doyoung had heard his own fair share of the comments when he’d made his entrance after the two, and he shared the uneasiness he could feel radiating from them as the only other person that knew of their true feelings, or lack thereof, between them.

 

The pair did their best to follow Doyoung’s advice and even found themselves enjoying the extravagant party when it began to take off. Beautiful music made by the sirens echoed off the walls of the ballroom while fluorescent orbs cast a magical glow down on the crowd.

 

Jaemin had never felt as beautiful as he did under the lighting. Essence of bioluminescent phytoplankton shined and shimmered where it was lined along the thin gills on his cheekbones and arms. Glittering rings of silver encircled both his wrists and upper arms while tiny lavender-colored stones and gems stuck in decorative patterns across the span of his clavicle. He knew he looked absolutely stunning, and for the first time in five years he felt almost as beautiful as he saw his fiance.

 

Taeyong was decorated in a similar manner, but the stones that decorated him were of amber and fiery oranges. The bands that encircled his arms were a deep gold and his old circlet had been replaced with one of more grandeur. The delicate silver was braided brilliantly with stones that shined brighter and held licks of magic flames inside. They held the tellings of Taeyong’s elemental power, which was almost useless in their world, but it was still a symbol of might within the third prince.

 

The event finished without any major incidents and turned out to be just as much of a bore as Taeyong had predicted. Still, Jaemin found little things that entertained him here and there. He told the elder prince of the weird decorative stones he’d seen on a couple of maidens from neighboring seas and mentioned one or two of the mermen that had caught his eyes.

 

Taeyong huffed at that. “Were they of any better appearance than myself?”

 

Jaemin smiled slyly, “You? What is so special about your appearance, my dear fiance?”

 

Taeyong squinted at the younger and pulled him into his arms. They were in the privacy of Jaemin’s sleeping quarters, where Taeyong always made sure to escort the other at the end of the day no matter how busy he was.

 

“I must say, Your Highness, the ball was absolutely gorgeous. But as beautiful as it may have been, it was as equally as boring, I’m afraid.” Jaemin giggled, his face only inches from Taeyong’s. “But for a first and last date, I think it suited us just fine, ironically enough. We make a beautiful couple, as we heard plenty of times through the evening… but we are terribly boring.”

 

“Min-ah.” Jaemin avoided his gaze and stared into the glowing amber stones that circled his head.

 

“Jaemin, look at me.” Taeyong tried again, and lifted the younger prince’s head by two fingers hooked beneath his chin.

 

“It would feel almost like a waste if I did not take this one and only chance to kiss you goodnight, would it not?”

 

Jaemin’s lips turned up at the corners, just slightly, and he nodded. “I suppose you are right. It would not hurt to try at least once. Just to make sure, hmm?”

 

Taeyong closed the small space between them and captured the younger’s lips in a chaste kiss.

 

The two princes felt their magic begin to intertwine at the intimate connection and broke off the kiss abruptly. They hadn’t taken into consideration that they might actually fit perfectly together as if made for one another.

 

Jaemin looked to Taeyong with terrified eyes.

 

“Do not fret, Jaemin-ah. This changes nothing.” Taeyong spoke almost breathlessly. He was unsure if he was trying to console the younger or himself. He looked away as his chest heaved and brought a trembling hand to his mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> twitter: @ash_tin or @jaeminsunflower  
> cc: curiouscat.me/ashtin


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